Repression
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: {rated T for mentions of child abuse} Knuckles didn't remember much about his past or where he came from; heck, he didn't even remember his parents! However, an incident at Meh Burger is about to change that... (slightly AU Sonic Boom universe)


"So, Knux, how does Meh Burger sound?" Sonic asked, a small smile on his face as they walked through the village.

"Sounds good to me!" Knuckles replied with a grin.

The two headed into their usual eating place, though stopped as they noticed a mother and her child standing in line. They seemed to be arguing about something.

"Geez, wonder what happened," Sonic muttered, noticing how angry the mother looked.

Knuckles felt a bit anxious as he watched them fight, though he wasn't really sure why. He tried to ignore them, but their shouting was just getting louder and louder.

The two continued to fight and argue, until the mother's hand was suddenly raised. In a swift motion, she slapped the child across the face, the sound easily reaching the two friends.

" _Harsh,_ " Sonic muttered under his breath, looking away as his ears flopped down. "Glad I'm not _that_ kid."

Knuckles, however, barely heard him. His eyes were wide, his breathing was heavy, and his entire body was shaking. After a few moments, he let out a distressed cry and fled from the scene.

Sonic's ears twitched violently at the noise as he jerked his head over to Knuckles. "K-Knux? Hey, wait!"

He chased after the echidna, though only keeping up with him and not stopping him; he looked distressed and Sonic imagined that he wouldn't want the village to see him like that.

Knuckles eventually stopped in the forest and flopped down against a tree. He stared blankly at nothing, his arms wrapped around himself as he caught his breath.

Sonic slowly walked toward him, kneeling down worriedly. "Hey, bud. You okay?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

Knuckles seemed startled, as if he hadn't realized Sonic was there. He shook his head.

"What's up?" Sonic asked, reaching hesitant hands out towards his friend. "You're shaking…"

Knuckles whimpered. "I-I don't wanna talk about it…"

"Hey, we're pals, aren't we?" Sonic asked, seeming slightly offended by Knuckles' response. "You can talk to me…"

Knuckles hesitated. "W-well…um…d-do you ever forget things, and then, something happens that…makes you remember?"

Sonic's mind clicked. "You mean… that mother earlier, when she slapped her kid?"

Knuckles nodded, whimpering again.

"What about it?" Sonic asked, tilting his head.

Knuckles took a deep breath. "It…it gave me back my memories of my parents."

Sonic cringed at the implications that made. "O-oh… yeah?" His voice was quiet.

Knuckles nodded. "Y-yeah." He grimaced as the memories flashed by in his mind. "Th-they…they slapped me a lot too. And yelled at me. And when they weren't being mad at me, they just acted like… like I didn't even exist…"

Tears were forming in his eyes. "Th-they said I was s-stupid, and worthless, and a 'screw-up', a-and how they hated being stuck with me. Th-they never said 'I love you', o-or cared about my feelings, they blamed me for everything…"

Knuckles was starting to cry now. "A-and they hit me a lot… a-and when I asked them to s-stop, they just told me to s-suck it up and stop being s-such… a w-wimp…"

Tears spilled down his cheeks as he recalled the nightmare that was his childhood. Just thinking about it was making him feel sick to his stomach, and he was suddenly thankful that he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

Sonic's expression softened. "K-Knux…"

He saddened, placing a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "So that's why you couldn't remember. You repressed it…"

Knuckles nodded. "A-and then…th-they took me to Angel Island and… l-left me there… all alone… a-and then I forgot everything."

Knuckles closed his eyes, wishing the horrible images would just go away. He could almost hear their voices again, and even the stinging in his cheek from countless slaps to the face. Sobs racked his body as he shook with fear.

It broke Sonic's heart to see his friend like this. He hesitated, then brought his arms around Knuckles and hugged him. "That's in the past, Knux. They're gone now."

"M-my memories though… th-they feel so r-real…"

Knuckles buried his face into Sonic's fur and continued to sob.

Sonic let out a small sound of discomfort, but continued hugging Knuckles, not sure what else he could do. "I-I know, but they're not here _now_. It's just me, you, Tails, Amy, and Sticks," he said.

Knuckles said nothing. He continued to sob for quite some time.

Sonic sighed sadly, lightly stroking Knuckles' back. He kept quiet, letting Knuckles get all his emotions out.

After a while, Knuckles quieted down somewhat. He still seemed distressed, however.

Sonic gently pet his head. "Feeling better?"

"A little," Knuckles replied, wiping his eyes. "Thanks."

He sighed sadly.

Sonic frowned. "What's still buggin' you?"

Knuckles hesitated for a moment. "Well, i-it's just… people have always hated me. A-and now I know that my own parents hated me too…"

He saddened. "No one's ever really loved me, and I doubt they ever will…"

Sonic grew silent, his ears flopped downwards at Knuckles' words. The silence became uneasily long, until Sonic gripped Knuckles tighter, his voice becoming unusually soft.

" _I_ do…"

Knuckles' eyes went wide. "H-huh?" He wasn't sure if he'd heard Sonic right.

Sonic became a bit tense, averting his gaze from Knuckles and sighing.

"… _I_ do. I love ya, big guy," he replied, his voice a little shaky; he wasn't used to saying something so affectionate.

Knuckles blushed heavily. "Y-you…you do?"

Sonic blushed just as badly, placing a nervous hand behind his head and nodding.

More tears came to Knuckles' eyes. But this time, he was smiling. Suddenly, he threw his arms around Sonic and hugged him.

"W-whoa!" Sonic gasped, surprised by the sudden hug. "W…what are you…?"

"Uh… hugging you?" Knuckles replied. "Does that… does that bother you?" he asked, feeling embarrassed.

"No! Not at all," Sonic said, blushing a bit more. "Just… I didn't expect that reaction from you," he admitted.

Knuckles hugged him tighter. "I didn't expect you to say you loved me." He smiled. "But I'm glad you do, because I love you too!"

"Huh? Seriously?" Sonic asked. "You do?"

"Of course I do!" Knuckles replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno," Sonic admitted. "Just… y'never really gave me any signs!"

Maybe he was more oblivious than he thought.

"I tried," Knuckles replied. He smiled sheepishly. "Guess I wasn't obvious enough, huh?"

Sonic shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter now."

He paused, then smirked and leaned closer. "Buuut I guess you deserve a little reward for tryin'."

His lips made contact with Knuckles', and he held the contact despite his suddenly-fast heartbeat.

Knuckles' eyes went wide in surprise, but he didn't object. He closed his eyes, his cheeks growing warm. He tried his best to kiss back, despite his lack of experience. His heart fluttered, and all of his sadness and fear seemed to no longer exist. For this moment, it was just him and the one he loved.

Sonic leaned further into the kiss, his hands reaching up and promptly being placed on Knuckles' cheeks. He'd wanted to do this for a while, so he was going to cherish it.

Knuckles blushed at this, letting out a muffled giggle. He still had his arms around Sonic, and he pulled the hedgehog even closer to him.

After a moment, Sonic pulled away and took a breath, grinning wide at Knuckles. He opened his mouth to speak, but just ended up chuckling happily.

Knuckles grinned back, his cheeks still glowing pink.

"Th-thank you. I feel a lot better now!"

"Good," Sonic said with a firm nod. "I mean, if your parents treated you that way, it's _their_ loss. They don't know what they gave up."

Knuckles blushed even more. "Y-you really think that?"

Sonic raised a brow. "Well, _duh_. What, I gotta kiss you again to prove my point?" he joked.

"I…I wouldn't mind," Knuckles replied, giggling sheepishly.

Sonic rolled his eyes, then pulled himself closer to Knuckles and gave him another kiss, though it was a bit more rough this time around.

Knuckles giggled some more, clearly enjoying the affection he was receiving.

Sonic then pulled away, giving the echidna a small grin. "Believe me now?"

Knuckles nodded happily. "Mmhmm!"

He was still hugging Sonic.

Sonic thought a bit, then tilted his head. "So, y'think you can still go to Meh Burger with me?" he asked. "On a date this time?" He blushed. "We can head to my place after that if you want."

Knuckles grinned. "I'd love to."

The two then headed out. Even though they called it a 'date', nothing really changed. Still, it felt special.

Heck, even their time spent back at Sonic's shack felt special. They were just playing video games together, but it somehow seemed so much more romantic now that they knew about their feelings for each other.

However, Sonic realized how long they'd been playing and looked up at the sky. "It's getting pretty late," he said, setting his controller down. "Guess you gotta, uhhh, head 'home'?" he asked, though knowing that Knuckles didn't quite have a house to speak of.

Knuckles' head drooped sadly. "I guess so."

"…Though," Sonic muttered, scratching his cheek sheepishly. "you _could_ stay if y'want. I mean, if you wouldn't mind crashin' on the hammock with me."

Knuckles blushed. "W-would that be okay?"

Sonic shrugged. "I wouldn't mind. Would you be okay with it?" he asked.

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Sonic blushed slightly, then climbed onto his hammock, sitting down and waiting patiently for Knuckles.

Knuckles carefully climbed on next to him. He smiled.

"Thanks, Sonic."

Sonic smiled at him, but shifted awkwardly on the hammock. "S-so, er… do we cuddle or something?"

"If that's okay with you," Knuckles replied shyly.

Sonic went quiet at that, then laid down, taking Knuckles with him and cuddling into the echidna, not saying a word.

Knuckles blushed and smiled. He wrapped an arm around Sonic and pulled him even closer, nuzzling him.

Sonic enjoyed the close contact, but was _easily_ blushing more than Knuckles was.

"…Y-you won't tell anyone about this, will you?" he asked nervously.

Knuckles chuckled. "Oh fine, I won't tell!"

Sonic hugged him tight, hiding his face in his chest. "Good…"

He slowly drifted off to sleep.

Knuckles nuzzled him again, smiling softly. He too soon fell asleep.

An hour or so passed, and Sonic was slowly awakened by Knuckles' shivering. He stared at the echidna's face, seeing that he seemed to be in distress as he sleep. "Hey, Knuckles!" he called, shaking his boyfriend.

Slowly Knuckles stirred, his eyes fluttering open.

"Wha—Sonic?"

"You okay, Knux?" he asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah…" Knuckles' breathing slowly returned to normal. "I…I had a bad dream."

"Oh…" Sonic frowned. "Are… you gonna be okay? Anything I can do?"

Knuckles blushed. "Could…could you sing me a lullaby?" he asked sheepishly.

Sonic's ears perked up. "Uh… I mean, I'm surprised you remember me singing that one time," he admitted.

"How could I forget?" Knuckles replied, smiling softly. "You sounded so nice!"

Sonic blushed, rolling his eyes somewhat at the praise. "…You _sure_ you wanna hear me sing a lullaby?" he asked.

Knuckles nodded. "Pleeeeeease?"

Sonic pouted, unable to resist the look he was being given. "A-alright…"

He searched his head to see if he knew any lullabies, then found one he remembered and took a breath, starting to sing.

Knuckles smiled as Sonic sang. His boyfriend's voice was soothing to him, and it quickly banished all of his nightmares away. His eyes began to droop, and soon he was drifting off once more.

Sonic saw that Knuckles was sleeping, but still finished the lullaby completely before allowing himself to rest. He lightly kissed Knuckles' forehead, then drifted off to sleep.

"Night, Knuckles…"


End file.
